From the obvious answers to questionable dreamers, here’s what RM 50,000 can get you for the journey of a lifetime.

It has to be said that any adventurous spirit will have, at some point in their life, entertained the idea of going on an overland trip. Just you, a car, and the open road ahead, on a journey that becomes a story you’ll tell for the rest of your life.

And of course, any petrolhead worth their salt has probably also dreamed at least once about the perfect car they will embark with on this grand tour. But alas, sometimes the spirit for adventure usually is much larger than the actual financial ability for it.

That said, lurk around motoring news long enough and there has always been a steady trickle of stories about reasonably cheap (and often crappy) cars becoming the chariot of choice for many people’s once-in-a-lifetime intercontinental adventures. In fact, there exists a rally whose whole shtick is driving from Europe to Mongolia in tiny cars with engines under one litre. 

Still, most people might not be quite as delightfully unhinged as to attempt such a journey in something like a Kelisa. So here instead is a list of five cars that could realistically be secured for about RM50,000, arranged in increasing order of insanity/improbability, for your overlanding consideration.

Toyota Land Cruiser

Now right upon having the idea of putting together a list like this, it goes without saying the obvious answer had to appear sooner or later. After all, the saying goes that any 4×4 can take you anywhere, but a Land Cruiser will always get you home.

Though what perhaps was the surprising thing here is that at the pre-set RM50,000 budget, the initial assumption was that one would have to settle for an ageing 80-series Ninja. Yet a quick scan of classifieds reveals that RM50,000 can actually stretch to an early-2000s 100 Series instead!

This thus means your upcoming adventure could be undertaken in leather-lined comfort, with its gargantuan size also capable of swallowing nearly every conceivable souvenir you might pick up along the way. Add to that a creamy V8 under the bonnet too, and the LC will definitely have more than enough oomph to climb every mountain and ford every stream, in search of your adventuring dream.

And while the 100 Series is more technically advanced than the older dead-buts reliable Ninja, most horror stories tend to revolve around wear-and-tear items rather than catastrophic failures. Besides, it is still a Land Cruiser after all, so even if it is half beaten to death, you can trust the other half will never die.

Subaru XV

Moving onto something a little more compact — and a little more contemporary — than the Land Cruiser here, it is worth noting too that the Subaru XV can already be found from around the RM 40,000 mark.

With its reasonably generous ground clearance and Subaru’s famed symmetrical all-wheel-drive system, the XV should cope admirably when the road inevitably turns rough (as many owners have since demonstrated). Pair that with a genuinely tidy driving experience by crossover standards, and it is a car that should still let you properly enjoy the stretches of good tarmac you stumble upon along the way.

Now, the only real reason it doesn’t rank ahead of the Land Cruiser is really for the fact one has to likely curl up for an unscheduled kip within, though this could admittedly be mitigated by opting for the larger Forester instead. The CVT is also perhaps not ideal for prolonged punishment, and the tendency for its boxer engine to glug a bit of oil means that it would be wise to keep a spare bottle along for the trip.

Proton Saga

Getting into the more interesting options here now, it is worth remembering that thanks to this modern connected world, most overland journeys now ultimately happen on roads. Rough roads, yes, but still roads nonetheless.

If that’s the case then, while an old-school 4×4 offers reassurance through toughness, a brand-new car could potentially also offer reassurance through freshness. Everything will be tight, unworn, and rather importantly, backed by a warranty. And thus when viewed with this lens, something you can still drive straight out of the showroom, like the latest Proton Saga, then suddenly starts to make a surprising amount of sense.

Thanks to its decent ground clearance and relatively thick tyres, the Saga should be able to handle rough surfaces better than you might expect. With a kerb weight just a shade over a tonne as well, this sedan should be light and nimble enough to skip across any imperfections on the road, rather than lumber into them.

The Saga would also actually be a rather wallet-friendly way to complete an overland journey, with the 1.5-litre four-cylinder unlikely to be especially thirsty on the ol’ jungle juice. And since this latest generation still carries Proton’s trademark ride and handling balance, it should make the occasional stretch of nice back road genuinely enjoyable rather than merely tolerable.

Honestly here too, if someone has already completed such a journey in a Kelisa, a Saga therefore would feel almost limousine-like in comparison.

Mercedes-Benz SLK

Finally, on to the really interesting (read: slightly insane) options. Every great road trip should involve scenery, and what better way to enjoy it than with no roof in the way? That’s where a cabriolet enters the conversation.

Understandably, however, RM50,000 isn’t much of a cabriolet budget in Malaysia, with the Miata tax putting those fun little Japanese roadsters well double than the budget. That therefore leaves choices like a Volkswagen Eos, or the Mercedes-Benz SLK.

Now of course, the SLK admittedly not the most practical of choices. Boot space effectively disappears once the folding hardtop is stowed, meaning packing will require monk-level minimalism. Reliability from this era is also… optimistic, thanks to these cars being built during the period when Mercedes was overrun by bean counters.

Still, the security of a metal roof is handy on an adventure like this, and the Airscarf system blowing warm air at your neck means the roof could plausibly stay down even when temperatures drop. And if the worst does happen? At least you’ll still look stylish while stranded by the roadside.

Maserati GranTurismo

Just to end this list with a bang, this might be a bit of a cop-out considering the car in question costs roughly twice the prescribed budget. But the aim here is to imagine the most unsuitable machine for an overland journey, and what could be more unsuitable than an ageing Italian exotic?

So here, ladies and gentlemen, is the Maserati GranTurismo, which can now occasionally be found dipping below the RM100,000 mark. And yes, it doesn’t go unnoticed that there’s a certain irony to its name, as gran turismo literally translates from Italian to “grand tour”.

Speaking of grand tours though, it should be pointed out that a drop-top version of this Maserati did actually prove its durability when it crossed the inhospitable desert of Mauritania in an episode of The Grand Tour. So despite its reputation for Italian fragility, there is at least some evidence for there to be a half-decent overlander in it.

Also, just think of the public service you will be performing, by bringing that sonorous Italian V8 soundtrack to corners of the world that have never heard one before. With looks that are properly drop-dead gorgeous too, even a breakdown might work in your favour, as passing motorists slow down long enough to admire it… and perhaps offer help.

Truth be told, a Bentley Flying Spur was briefly considered as the truly insane option for this list, given how temptingly cheap some examples have become. But the novelty of a bargain Bentley has already been explored to death. And frankly, if you want comfort, the Land Cruiser already covers that angle perfectly.